Ping Shum

Ping Shum is currently a final year PhD candidate enrolled in a joint degree program of King's College London and the National University of Singapore. His research focus is the Chinese party-state's innovative use of Internet technologies, such as social media, state-sponsored search engines and e-government, to mobilise public support and enhance legitimacy. He co-authored a book chapter, entitled 'ICT and the transformation of the Chinese Communist Party', with his supervisor, Prof Zheng Yongnian.

Prior to his current position, Ping worked for news media outlets in Hong Kong and the UK. After spending his early career in Hong Kong, he joined the BBC World Service in London in 2004 as a journalist. At the BBC he covers mainly international news, reporting frequently on location: from Japan on the 60th years anniversary of the end of WWII, from the Far East on Sino-Russian relations, the 2009 Climate Change Summit in Copenhagen and on environmental protection in the Amazon basin. He has interviewed the Dalai Lama in India, and in 2010 covered the Nobel Peace Prize Awards Ceremony in Oslo.

Ping was a participant at the Annenberg-Oxford Media Policy Summer Institute held at the University of Oxford in 2015. He holds an MPhil in Politics from the University of Cambridge, a Master of Asian Studies, a Master of Public Policy, both from the Australian National University, and a BA in International Journalism from Jinan University, China. In his spare time, Ping enjoys cooking, photography, playing badminton and traveling.